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Debt Consolidation Advice for One Monthly Payment

Mark Cappel
UpdatedApr 18, 2024
Key Takeaways:
  • You can consolidate debts into one monthly payment with different debt relief forms.
  • Compare credit counseling, debt settlement and debt consolidation loans.

I would like to consolidated some of my debt into one monthly payment.

I would like to consolidated some of my debt into one monthly payment. I have purchased a condo a year ago and have recently tried to get a loan for debt consolidation and found out that my ex has stopped paying on the second mortgage loan that I co-singed 2-3 years ago. This is ruining my credit and I can't refinance it because I feel like he has that house and he should be responsible for it. What are my options? Can I possibly get a loan to pay off my bills? Thanks.

If your ex-husband was ordered to make the mortgage payments by the divorce court as one of the terms of your divorce decree, but has since failed to make the payments, you should consult with your attorney, who may want to file a complaint against your ex-husband for violation of the divorce decree. If the issue of who would be responsible for making the loan payments was not determined as a term of your divorce agreement, then forcing your ex-husband to make these payments may be more difficult. Again, you should contact your divorce attorney to explain that your ex-husband has defaulted on these mortgage payments, and find out what legal recourse is available to you.

From your question, it sounds like your ex-husband is currently living in the home encumbered by this second mortgage. If he continues to fail to make the mortgage payments, he could soon be facing foreclosure, so you should make it clear to him that he needs to make the mortgage payments if he wants to stay in the home. A foreclosure will likely cause much more damage to your credit score than a simple delinquency, so it is important that you address this issue as quickly as possible to prevent a foreclosure from proceeding. Hopefully, the risk of foreclosure will be enough to convince your ex-husband to bring current the delinquent payments.

If your ex-husband cannot afford to continue making the monthly mortgage payments on this second mortgage, he may want to look into a refinance loan, which could bring the mortgage current and allow your ex-husband to start from scratch with new payments to a new lender. Depending on the interest rate being charged on the current mortgages on the home, a refinance loan may allow him to obtain a lower interest rate and lower monthly mortgage payments. Whether or not he can qualify for a refinance loan will depend on his credit score and how much equity he has in the home. To learn more about refinance loans, I encourage you to visit the Bills.com Mortgage Refinancing page. If you enter your contact information in the Bills.com Savings Center at the top of the page, we can have several pre-screened mortgage brokers contact you to discuss the refinance options available to you and your ex-husband.

If your ex-husband cannot afford the mortgage payments and cannot refinance, you and he may want to discuss selling the home. While I understand that no one wants to admit that they cannot afford their mortgage payments, if he is in over his head with the loans, selling the home should allow him to avoid the painful and costly foreclosure process. Regardless of what your ex-husband can or cannot do in terms of bringing the loan current or refinancing, if he was ordered by the divorce court to make the monthly mortgage payments, he is required to pay the loan, even if this means selling the home or liquidating other property to do so. Again, you need to discuss the situation with your attorney to determine your ex-husbandÂ’s obligations under the divorce decree, and what legal remedies are available to you to resolve the delinquency on this mortgage loan.

I wish you the best of luck in resolving this dispute with your ex-husband and clearing up your credit rating. To learn more about credit, credit reporting, and ways to improve your credit score, I encourage you to explore the Bills.com Credit Help page.

If you personally are seeking debt consolidation, there are several forms:

Very quickly, if you want a free debt consultation with one of Bill's approved debt help partners, click here: Debt Help.

If you personally own a home (even with bad credit), a secured debt consolidation loan may be right for you. This type of loan is essentially a home equity loan which is used to pay off your other creditors. Secured consolidation loans help many consumers by consolidating all of their debts into a single monthly payment with a lower interest rate and payment amount. However, since your husband is unaware of your debt problems, a consolidation loan secured by your home may not be a practical solution, as keeping this type of loan from your husband could be difficult. Also, be careful before you borrow money against your home to pay off credit cards and other unsecured loans; you will be converting what was previously unsecured debt into secured debt. This could cause you problems down the road if for some reason you are unable to make your payments, or if life circumstances force you to file bankruptcy, as you may not be able to discharge the secured debt as you would unsecured debt. However, secured debt consolidation loans work for many people, so this is an option to consider carefullyÂ-the Bills.com Savings Center is a great resource to help you find a lender for this type of loan.

Bills.com makes it easy to compare mortgage offers and different loan types. Please visit the Mortgage Refinance page and find a loan that meets your needs at.

Another option to consider is a Consumer Credit Counseling Service, or CCCS. CCCS companies offer numerous services, such as financial counseling and budget planning, as well as Debt Management Plans (DMPs). In a DMP, the CCCS would arrange a new payment amount with each of your creditors, usually based on a reduced interest rate. You would then make a single monthly payment to the CCCS which would distribute the funds to your creditors, based on the new payment amounts. There are several drawbacks to CCCS, though. First, depending on your creditors, it may not be able to reduce your monthly payments enough to improve your financial situation. Second, it may have a negative impact on your ability to obtain a loan, so you may not wish to enter into a DMP if you anticipate any large purchases, such as home or an auto, in the near future. Third, the average DMP takes around five years to pay off your debts, so you must be willing and able to commit to a long-term repayment plan.

You may also want to consider the services offered by debt settlement firms. Rather than making monthly payments to your creditors, these programs negotiate lump sum settlements with your creditors, frequently reducing your debts by 50% to 60% of your principal balances. These programs usually take only 2-3 years to complete, so this is a good option for many people to rid themselves of debt in a relatively speedy manner. In many cases they can also reduce your monthly payment toward your debt. There is one major drawback to debt settlement programs, thoughÂ-they will significantly damage your credit while in the program and for at least a year or two afterward. However, if you are currently unable to afford to pay your creditors, the hit to your credit may be worth the benefit of ridding yourself of credit card debt. Because of your financial difficulties, you may want to stop focusing on the importance of your credit score. Although you may have a good credit score, because of your low income and large debt amount, most lenders will likely see you as a high risk borrower, and may not be willing to extend you credit, so your actual credit rating may not good as you believe. A debt settlement program is probably the fastest way to resolve you debts, and once you repay your debts, you should be able to rebuild your credit score through careful management of your credit accounts.

Hopefully, one of the several options I have described above may be able to help you. I encourage you to explore Bills.com to read more about these and other options available to you.

I hope this information helps you Find. Learn. Save.

Good Luck,

Bill

www.Bills.com

Debt statistics

If you are struggling with debt, you are not alone. According to the NY Federal Reserve total household debt as of Quarter Q4 2023 was $17.503 trillion. Student loan debt was $1.601 trillion and credit card debt was $1.129 trillion.

According to data gathered by Urban.org from a sample of credit reports, about 26% of people in the US have some kind of debt in collections. The median debt in collections is $1,739. Student loans and auto loans are common types of debt. Of people holding student debt, approximately 8% had student loans in collections. The national Auto/Retail debt delinquency rate was 4%.

Collection and delinquency rates vary by state. For example, in Nebraska, 16% have student loan debt. Of those holding student loan debt, 5% are in default. Auto/retail loan delinquency rate is 2%.

Avoiding collections isn’t always possible. A sudden loss of employment, death in the family, or sickness can lead to financial hardship. Fortunately, there are many ways to deal with debt including an aggressive payment plan, debt consolidation loan, or a negotiated settlement.

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2 Comments

BBill, Jan, 2009
I think what you need is a debt consolidation service, please read this article about consolidating medical debt: https://www.bills.com/medical-bills/
rriana, Jan, 2009
when i was pregnat i was a self paying patient and now i have medical bills from different locations to pay off. i wanted to know if i could put them all together into one monthly payment rather then to each place